My mom keeps checking out what sites I visit and I want to clean up my tracks. It’s not that I’m going anywhere I shouldn’t - of course - but I just really want some privacy and just want to be able to wipe my MSIE8 (Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0) browsing history. How do I do that?

Read the rest of this entry »

I just spent the better half of the day upgrading my son’s Dell 1721 laptop from Vista to Windows 7. I have done my share of Linux installs and upgrades on all kinds of hardware configurations but this was one of the toughest I have ever been through. Once I resolved it, the fix is rather easy, but finding the fix was a challenge. I am thankful for the many people who post useful information in forums so that people like me can resolve our problems. Hopefully this post will help some folks and save them a great deal of time and frustration.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every so often I go to download some software for my Acer Windows PC and have to decide between a 32-bit and 64-bit version of the application. I’m running Windows Vista but when I look, it just says that I’m running “Home Premium”. How do I know if I’m running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows?

Read the rest of this entry »

I just got an Apple iPod Touch, which is super cool, but I have no idea how to get it to work with my Dell PC. I’m running Windows Vista and use Windows Media Player 10 (WMP10) for the music on my computer, but WMP doesn’t seem to see my iPod. How do I proceed and get it to work??

Dave’s Answer:

There’s good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?

Read the rest of this entry »

I saw your earlier article about how to set up your Mac so that it requires a password when waking up from sleep or from the screen saver (see password required to wake Mac from sleep). Nice. Now, how can I do that with my Microsoft Windows Vista PC laptop?

Dave’s Answer:

Glad that other article was helpful. I think it’s pretty darn important to be aware of these privacy and security issues on your computer, whether you’re running Windows or Mac OS X. It’s just too likely that between kids, colleagues, pranksters and actual delinquents that someone can spin your laptop around and do something you don’t want while you’re in the bathroom, ordering a new drink at a cafe, or even at the store, computer sitting on the table at home.

Read the rest of this entry »

I want to turn off all the miscellaneous sounds in Windows that make noise when I carry out some action — like the clicks whenever the web browser goes to a web page, or the dings whenever a box appears on the screen asking me a question. I can turn my speakers off, but I still want to be able to play music or watch movies. Can I disable all the annoying Windows sounds, without turning off music that plays through my computer?

Read the rest of this entry »

I know how to open a command prompt in Microsoft Windows, but the normal methods for cutting and copying and pasting — like Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V — don’t seem to work inside a command prompt window. How can I do copying and pasting with a command prompt?

Dave’s Answer:

It’s possible to copy and paste within a Microsoft Windows command prompt, and to copy and paste text to/from other programs, but the commands and keyboard keys to do so are different from most other Windows programs.

Read the rest of this entry »

I took some photos with my digital camera and I want to e-mail them to friends or upload them to my Facebook, but the files are enormous, and uploading them takes forever! Can I make them smaller while still having the photos look the same?

Read the rest of this entry »

Laplink Software has officially launched a version of PCmover that allows Windows XP users to do in-place upgrades to Windows 7.

PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant is available on Laplink’s website with special Windows 7 pre-release pricing of $14.95. This edition of PCmover provides Windows XP users with the ability to upgrade their existing computers to Windows 7 without having to reinstall applications or backup and restore data.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a student, congrats.  If you’re not a student, it may be time to either call up or make a young friend.  Microsoft has announced that it’ll give students a great deal on upgrade versions of Windows 7, charging just $30.

Read the rest of this entry »